How to create a company’s expense policy?
Having regulations is usually beneficial when there is a concern about the employer’s funds. An expenditure policy is a collection of guidelines that tell employees how they can use the company’s funds. Additionally, if the employee pays out of pocket, it assures that they are reimbursed. Therefore, it’s a win-win scenario for both the employer and the employee, ensuring that little time is lost in reporting, submitting, authorizing, crediting, and auditing individual employee business costs.
What is covered and not covered by the reimbursement procedure should be specified in the corporate expenditure policy. To put it simply, it should contain all the rules outlining what the workers are allowed and forbidden to buy while at work, as well as if travel, basic food, and other welfare goods and services may be accessed using corporate funds.
What makes a company expenditure policy necessary?
An expenditure policy is a key to sustaining costs and preventing unforeseen charges if your workers utilize company cash to make purchases. Workers are less likely to invest business money in unneeded or unjustified goods and services when they are given explicit instructions.
A policy also simplifies expenditure management by streamlining the filing, approval, and reimbursement procedures.
Category List of Capital Allowances
There should be a precise list of the costs covered under the corporate policy. Typically, it involves
- Supplier payments
- Travelling (Airfares, railway ticket, vehicle hire, cab expenses, etc.) (Airfares, railway ticket, car rental, cab charges, etc.)
- Cost of gasoline or diesel while driving your car while at work
- Housing (in the case of the out-of-town trip) (In the case of out-of-town travel)
- Papers that are legally necessary, such as visas,
- Expenses for meals at work-related activities
- Office supplies or any other costs related to business use
- Call or phone bill fees
Spending caps for each category of expenses
It is crucial to specify a spending cap that follows the business budget. The policy should include yearly expenditure caps for personnel and budgets for teams based on their responsibilities and requirements. They have to be clear about how much they are permitted to spend on the business’s behalf.
Steps for Making an Expense Report
There are several sorts of expense reports. Some are more particular to each payment by every employee, while others are cumulative and indicate spending over a certain amount of time (a week, month, or quarter). Whatever the circumstance, it’s best to include the following information in the expenditure report:
- When the expenditure occurred
- The class of (travel, food, stationary, etc.)
- The sum paid in whole, including taxes
- The supplier that received the money
- Whether the money may be allocated to a particular client or project
The Method of Compensation
Spend time developing an easy reimbursement procedure when writing the policy. Give specifics on how employees will be paid, when they may anticipate receiving their cash, and what to do if any of the things on their expenditure reports are disallowed.
Example:
[Company name] Expense Policy
Plan of action
The reimbursement procedures for work-related costs are outlined in this expense policy. We outline our procedure for processing expenditures, specify which costs will be repaid and which won’t, and give advice on proper expense reporting.
Scope
All workers who spend money on things related to their jobs are subject to this policy. After they have been authorized, we will repay any reasonable business expenditures in full or partly, depending on how closely they adhere to our policy.
Evidence of purchase
You must have a valid receipt to submit an expense claim. As a result, for every purchase, seek a receipt or invoice. You don’t need to save the original receipt because you can digitize the spending using the expense app. Make sure our firm’s name is always on all invoices. If such is not the case, request a modification from the vendor.
Additionally, make sure the merchandise names and VAT amounts are included on the receipts and invoices. This is required to file a VAT refund claim with local or foreign tax authorities. Product descriptions and receipts without VAT are inadmissible as evidence of purchase.
Keeping costs to a minimum
While travelling, we want to ensure the comfort of our employees, but we also want to limit unnecessary spending. Therefore, we always strive for a reasonable solution, as long as it offers workers enough comfort. We select accommodations and dining options in the medium category and travel in economy class on trains and aeroplanes.
Travelling costs
Any lodging or transportation costs employees incur while on a business trip are considered travel expenditures. Certain sums have limitations. If you exceed the allotted amount, you are responsible for paying the difference. Travel costs comprise:
- Tickets for a flight, a train, a ship, or other transportation costs
- While travelling, local transportation (taxi fares, car rentals, etc.)
- At most once every day, parking fees, tolls, other vehicle-related costs
- necessary medical costs (vaccinations, for instance).
- Legal papers that are required, like visas.
Travel costs that are not reimbursed
The following costs are not reimbursable by us:
- Any costs incurred by guests travelling with workers who aren’t employees
- unapproved service upgrades, such as those to first class
- Personal pursuits (spas, museums, sightseeing, etc.)
- Personal items (gifts, clothes, etc.)
- Personal property is missing (your travel insurance will cover these costs).
Business presents
Sending presents to clients or business partners to improve commercial ties is typical. For tax-related reasons, we repay these fees up to per customer each year. You must obtain prior consent from your boss or the HR division if you want to exceed this cap. You will be responsible for paying the additional expense out of pocket if you still need to get pre-approval.
Unrelated costs
We aim to provide workers with everything they need to do their jobs properly. These issues concern employees and their interactions with colleagues. Consider expenditures like:
A business laptop, phone, and software tools for communicating with clients or working on projects are necessary for working from home. Professional meals with clients or colleagues are also essential.
